Chains

[skeets]

As is well known in here, I hate, I mean I really &^%$@#%&&*&^^ hate the R4s on the B !!!!
Damn thing spins on wet grass unless its in 4wd. So after fighting going out and buying chains, I thought I would ask where any one bought chains for these &^$^$**(*(&%&*( R4s?
And yeah if I thought for one second I could get rid of them for even turf's I might be tempted.
So about the chains, anyone ?

 

[jimh406]

I don't usually use mine on wet grass.

But, I bought ladder chains for mine at https://tirechain.com/. They have a few different types.

You could also try grooving your R4s like mcmxi did.

 

[BigG]

I know this is comparing apples to oranges, but here goes. As a kid growing up, we had a Wheelhorse with turf tires on it. The turf tires are about worthless in southeastern, Ohio clay. Constantly spinning the tires even When Mowing. My brother bought me a set of tire chains. We put them on and never took them off. About 10 years later, we got a new wheel horse. We took the chains off the old wheel horse, put on the new wheel horse and ran it for another 10 or 12 years. That wheel horse went to a family member as far as I know is still using it with the chains.

 

[Flintknapper]

I know this is comparing apples to oranges, but here goes. As a kid growing up, we had a Wheelhorse with turf tires on it. The turf tires are about worthless in southeastern, Ohio clay. Constantly spinning the tires even When Mowing. My brother bought me a set of tire chains. We put them on and never took them off. About 10 years later, we got a new wheel horse. We took the chains off the old wheel horse, put on the new wheel horse and ran it for another 10 or 12 years. That wheel horse went to a family member as far as I know is still using it with the chains.

Are you saying you approve of chains.

 

[RCW]

Skeets -

I bought mine from local hardware store, but a lot buy them from place @jimh406 linked. They’re happy with them from my perspective. Lots of options.

Definitely get 2- link. Don’t cheap out on 4-link!

Other thing is you’re not putting them on a Minneapolis Moline from the 50’s.

If you don’t have spacers on (I think you did spacers???), you might need them to get room for chains.

Have you considered R14 tires instead? Lotsa $$$…I’d do chains first too.

 

[Smokeydog]

Put some old car chains on the B26 front after Christmas. Kept it from getting much snow for rest of winter. I wouldn’t mow with them.
Tractors mostly stay in 4wd drive on our hillside farm. Have grooved the fronts for mowing. Make sure you are running the right air pressure. Prefer the R4 tires for loader and backhoe work.

 

[mikester]

Cut the grass only when its dry, no more slip and slide...decks stays cleaner and less clumping too.

 

[skeets]

HOLY JUMPIN JEZZUSE !! I didnt think chains for this thing would be cheap but good lord!

 

[chim]

This is my third tractor with R4's and the second with grooved tires. Occasionally when backing up on juicy grass I'll pick the RFM to get more weight on the rears. Never need 4WD to mow. I have even plowed snow with an empty TPH. R4's must work better the farther east you go here in PA

Snow Equipment Owning/Operating - Cutting / Groving / Siping R-4 for snow

Watcha gonna do with all of them "fishing worms" :)........

tractorbynet.com

 

[GeoHorn]

I have a friend who runs a 2WD Massey on his farm…which he bought from a warehouse-use-background … it had “turf” style tires. He took it to the ag-tire-dealer who had old, used R-1s in the back yard….and who cut the bead-area out of the old R-1s…. Deflated the turf tires so they could be crunched-down with tire tools/crow-bars….and slipped the R-1 treads onto/over the circumference of the turf tires. He now has (slightly oversize) equivalent R-1s for the last 25 years and they’ve not given him any trouble at all.
The reason he did this was because the warehouse-use-tractor was less expensive to buy (low buyer demand in an ag-community) and he has an excess of mesquite and other thorny vegetation…so he was hoping to avoid a constant battle with flats. It has worked great for him for that… but also has enjoyed great traction. I don’t recall how much he paid to do it….the tire dealer considered the old R-1s to be near junk-price-wise…. The total installation price was very low…. I seem to recall $150 for each. As I’ve said… 25 years later he’s still running them.